NitrateVille Radio Episode 15: Author Vanda Krefft on William Fox, The Man Who Made the Movies

His name is among the most recognizable in Hollywood—yet no one knows the full story of William Fox, the silent era mogul who gave his name to 20th Century Fox and more. I talk with Vanda Krefft, whose new biography is the first modern one of the least known of the studio chiefs, a man who set out to become the Rockefeller of the movie biz at the height of the roaring 20s—and lost it all. (49:56)

Here'sThe Man Who Made the Movies, The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox at Amazon; it comes out next Tuesday, November 28, but can be pre-ordered now.

Unfortunately, it's hard to find many clips from Fox silents, given their very low survival rate, but here's art from some of the movies we talk about.

Annette Kellerman in Daughter of the Gods (1916)

Theda Bara in Cleopatra (1917)

Over the Hill (aka Over the Hill To the Poorhouse) (1920)

Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien in Sunrise (1927)

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“Sentimentality is when it doesn't come off—when it does, you get a true expression of life's sorrows.” —Alain-Fournier

Another great interview, Mike, and I look forward to reading Vanda Krefft's bio. I'd like to correct one misleading comment made by her, however, and that was that there have been no previous bios about William Fox. I have four of them on my shelf, the earliest (and perhaps the very first ever published) by Upton Sinclair, modestly titled UPTON SINCLAIR PRESENTS WILLIAM FOX, written way back in 1933. Another, WILLIAM FOX: A STORY OF EARLY HOLLYWOOD, 1915-1930, was co-written by Susan Fox and Donald G. Rosellini and published in 2006. WILLIAM FOX, SOL M. WURTZEL AND THE EARLY FOX FILM CORPORATION: LETTERS, 1917-1923, while not a bio as such, provides a fascinating glimpse into Fox's thinking through letters and telegrams exchanged between him and Sol Wurtzel during the title's time period; it was co-authored by Lillian Wurtzel Semenov and Carla Winter in 2001. Most recently was Merrill T. McCord's massive WILLIAM FOX AND THE FOX FILM CORPORATION, published just last year. None of this is to take away from Ms. Krefft's biography, which I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading, but based on this interview and the engaging stories she has told promises to be a thoroughly entertaining and informative book.

Someone with a definite opinion and I look forward to seeing the supporting documentation in the book!

Bob

New and vigorous impulses seem to me to be at work in it,[the cinema] and doubtless before long it will drop all slavish copying of the stage and strike out along fresh paths. -- Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree

Pathe Lehrman wrote:Another great interview, Mike, and I look forward to reading Vanda Krefft's bio. I'd like to correct one misleading comment made by her, however, and that was that there have been no previous bios about William Fox. I have four of them on my shelf, the earliest (and perhaps the very first ever published) by Upton Sinclair, modestly titled UPTON SINCLAIR PRESENTS WILLIAM FOX, written way back in 1933. Another, WILLIAM FOX: A STORY OF EARLY HOLLYWOOD, 1915-1930, was co-written by Susan Fox and Donald G. Rosellini and published in 2006. WILLIAM FOX, SOL M. WURTZEL AND THE EARLY FOX FILM CORPORATION: LETTERS, 1917-1923, while not a bio as such, provides a fascinating glimpse into Fox's thinking through letters and telegrams exchanged between him and Sol Wurtzel during the title's time period; it was co-authored by Lillian Wurtzel Semenov and Carla Winter in 2001. Most recently was Merrill T. McCord's massive WILLIAM FOX AND THE FOX FILM CORPORATION, published just last year. None of this is to take away from Ms. Krefft's biography, which I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading, but based on this interview and the engaging stories she has told promises to be a thoroughly entertaining and informative book.

Thank you, Pathe Lehrman, for your interest in my Fox book. To clarify my comment about no previous Fox bio...I should have been more specific and said no comprehensive biography at the time I started writing the book. The Sinclair book was paid for by Fox and goes up to 1932 only (Fox lived another twenty years); Sinclair did no independent research and relied solely on information provided to him by Fox. The Fox-Wurtzel letters are, as you note, not a biography and deal with a relatively short time frame. The Susan Fox/Donald G. Rosellini book is, in the authors' own words, a "biographical novel." And Merrill McCord was writing his book at the same time I was writing mine (although he beat me to publication). For most of that time, Merrill described his book to me as a history of the William Fox era films rather than as a William Fox biography.

Thanks for the clarifications, Vanda. I asked for (and received) your book for Christmas, so as soon as I'm finished reading about John Wayne I'll dive into your biography. As the author of MR. SUICIDE: HENRY "PATHE" LEHRMAN AND THE BIRTH OF SILENT COMEDY, I look forward to reading whatever you have written about Lehrman and his several year association with Fox for the Sunshine Comedies. If I have any questions, you may receive a message from me! All the best, and have a happy and successful new year.